ARKANSAS, USA — The Arkansas Civic Health Index, the first report of its kind, took an in-depth look at civic engagement and provided recommendations on how to improve it.
A key finding from the report puts Arkansas at the lowest in voter registration and turnout rates in national elections of any U.S. state.
"Arkansas is a rural state, and oftentimes traveling to the polls is just a major effort," Eric Baker, a political science professor at the University of Arkansas Fort Smith (UAFS), said. "But, the fact that people live miles away from where the nearest poll is, I think that may be one of the things that could be holding people back."
In light of this issue, Washington County officials are working to make voting more accessible for the March primary.
"We have 42 sites open this year, so that voters aren't having to go to consolidated polling locations where the lines might be longer, and voters maybe aren't willing to wait in line as long. We're committed to making sure that voting is accessible," Director of Elections for Washington County Jennifer Price said.
In previous elections, Price says fewer young voters tend to cast their ballot in special elections. The recent report did find that statewide voter turnout has declined in the past two generations.
"Sometimes we see between 5% and 10% voter turnout, and that's definitely when we see that the younger voters aren't participating in those elections," Price said. "We encourage everyone to think of elections, no matter if it's a presidential election, or if it's just a special election or runoff election, those elections are important."
According to the report, a few obstacles Arkansans face are long lines at the polls, a lack of transportation to the polls in rural areas, and disqualification for past criminal convictions.
Washington County offers a program aimed at getting more young adults to the polls.
"We work with some of the local high schools to get students involved as poll workers before they're even eligible to actually vote," Price said. "And the hope of that is that they see the importance of voting and that when they do turn 18, and are eligible to vote, they do take advantage of that. Because, you know, at the age of 16 and 17, they actually get to work a presidential election year to see how the process works. To see how important it is."
Baker studies civic engagement on a national level and hopes local officials can take notes from states where voter turnout is better.
"You see the highest voter turnout tends to be in places like Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Now in those areas, they have a kind of a long history of, for lack of a better word, more direct democracy," Baker said. "Just maybe emulating some of their practices, you know, making it easier to register to vote, making it easier to vote, and just kind of cultivating a culture of participation."
To combat low voter turnout, the report recommends allowing online and same-day voter registration in the state, enabling automatic registrations when obtaining a driver's license, and lengthening the early voting period.
Watch 5NEWS on YouTube.
Download the 5NEWS app on your smartphone:
Stream 5NEWS 24/7 on the 5+ app: How to watch the 5+ app on your streaming device
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com and detail which story you're referring to.